Tuesday, February 5, 2013

How Much Marketing Should I Do?

Well, that depends...

How much money do you want to make?
How big is your business?
How much time do you have?
Do you have help?
Can you hire help?
What do you know about marketing principles?

How you answer those questions determines how much marketing you should do.  Here's the important thing to understand about marketing:

"Marketing is any activity that ultimately connects the producer and the user of a product, for the benefit of both."

It's not just one thing.  It's not just one ad.  It's not just one event.  It's not just one press release.  Marketing is global.  If you talk to people who are successful at rural businesses, they will tell you they are marketing all the time.

When I give marketing seminars, we start with a unit on goal setting.  A goal is different from a good idea because it is specific (numbers) and it has a date.  If your goal is to make $10,000--or $50,000-- in the year 2013, then you have a starting place on how much to market.

A marketing plan  helps--one that is easy to follow, visual and in your face (not in a drawer).  That way you can plan those 3 or 10 or 15 marketing activities in a month and stay on top of the deadlines.  Marketing plans like that make your job easier.  See "Marketing Farm Products" for a template of one I like and use religously myself.

If you look back through articles I've written (free) on both my website (http://beyondthesidewalk.com/fun_useful.shtml) and in past blog articles, I write often and at length about what it takes to write ads that get customers.  They must not be boring, they must not be all about you and your stuff, they must be about the customer--his hopes and dreams and making his life better)  If you don't yet know how to do that, keep reading and keep practicing!  I'll write about copy writing a lot more, too.  It's the single most critical skill you need to develop!

Marketing is global.  I don't mean all over the globe--you're probably never going to ship a sheep, horse, goat or alpace to a foreign country.  But global means all over the place.  Many ads, many press releases, many events, many promotions that get people excited, interested and finally to be customers.

Stay tuned!  We're going to get you good at marketing!  We're going to get you good at making money!
Ellie

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